With 13,242 students appearing in both the groups of CA Final (Existing) Course and 7,424 students appearing in CA Final (New) Course, in total around 21,000 students were awaiting their fate on 19th June 2010, when ICAI declared an average pass percentage of 5.01% with 3.46% in existing course and 6.56% in new course. The Forum at CAclubindia showed the eagerness, the anxiety, and the excitement of the students awaiting results. It also revealed the maturity of professionals and their encouraging attitude towards students to keep calm and move ahead with whatever they had in store for themselves.

Nirmal Jain and Sanjhi Agrawal the toppers of CA Final Exam May 2010 were excited and overwhelmed with their newly achieved honour of being now called as Chartered Accountants. We had an opportunity of speaking to both and got some valuable inputs for the students.

Nirmal Jain - A CAclubindia Member
CA Final (Existing Course)- 1st Rank Holder

‘Nirmal’ his name defines his blessedness. From a small town of Rajasthan where there are no colleges to pursue commerce, his love for the subject inspired him to move from his native land to Jodhpur. Is this a teaching for all of us, ‘Pursue what you are best in, no matter what the environment provides you!’

While speaking to him we could understand one thing clearly ‘It’s not whether a person is extraordinary or not, but what he does and how he does must be extraordinary’. He has an extraordinary determination in his voice and extraordinary believe in his actions, which we think makes him extraordinary. Let’s hear about his journey from a student to a Chartered Accountant in his own words:

“My siblings have also done this, they had no option of studying Commerce in the town so they went to nearby cities to pursue further studies and few of them are also pursuing CA. I also had this in my mind that if i have to take up commerce as my stream of study i have to move from my native town and complete my studies. Eventually i also took up CA and started working towards it. I had a very systematic lifestyle while i was preparing for my exams or even when i was working as an article. I knew i have limited hours in a day so after keeping aside the 7 hours bracket for articleship, i used to plan the rest of the day very strictly keeping in mind my coaching hours and self studies timing. In Final exams as the topics and subjects involved are critical, coaching is really important to understand the concepts better. Also the reference books should be limited in number in the sense that do not follow three to four different books for a chapter this may increase the confusion and you might waste time on things or issues which are not very important. Rather stick to references which you find comfortable to understand and which has concepts well written, this will save time as you have eight papers in total to study for.”

“Articleship also has a lot to do when it comes to how well you fair in your exams. I have done my articleship from a very prestigious and renowned firm in Jodhpur, and the credit of my result also goes to the working experience that i have received from my firm in Audit, Corporate Law and Taxation matters. I would always suggest students to take their practical training very seriously as they’ll always have an edge over others then. I expected better marks as per my own evaluation but then never expected a ‘Rank 1’. Somehow the evaluation has been strict as the pass percentage is really low and many of my friends are really disheartened as this kind of result was not expected.”

“I have three options in my mind, though till now the only thing i wanted was to clear my CA Final exams. My family and peers are of the view of me studying further and taking up IAS, but i have other two options open also- practice or job. All these decisions i am procrastinating, for i need to think thoroughly before i take a decision. For now i am completely hooked up to the endless calls i am receiving, and attending family friends who are so so happy for me. There has always been an issue that the results are been scaled/ fabricated but i really don’t think so, this is a professional course and students should understand the technicality of subjects and not just blindly blame ICAI for their results. Also to forfeit such arguments ICAI has declared that students will be able to physically access their answer scripts after the results are out from May 2011, which clearly shows their honest intentions.”

“My father has been my inspiration since childhood, he is a self- made man and i want to be like him, his dedication towards his work and the disciplined life he follows are his strength.”

“I would suggest students to never start without planning. They should not get induced by things which their peers are doing, as every person has a different way of handling their strengths and weaknesses. Also never get over burdened by choices, stick to the references you are following unless you find a better option and give equal importance to each subject as every subject counts and each one of them are technically difficult. He adds that you can be a CA or a Dr but only with a disciplined life you can be a successful CA or a Dr or whatever you want to be.”

We wish Nirmal a bright and prosperous life as a Chartered Accountant as the real race starts now!!

Also read : Interview with "Sanjhi Agrawal" CA Final(New course) - 1st Rank Holder